Morphin' Fate
by Gundam Kaiser
Summary: The Fourth Grail War is about to begin, and all the Servants but one are from Power Rangers! Fate will never be the same... it's Morphin' Time!
1. The Power Arrives

**Morphin' Fate**

**Shadow Crystal Mage gave me the idea for this - although several of his rules have been tweaked or ignored - and Corrupto Ingrato (aka IAmNotCreativeEnough over at TvTropes) helped me iron out choices for some of the Servants. Despite our occasional disagreements, he's actually a pretty cool guy. Go check out his fics and review them when you're done here.**

**Hi IANCE! waves at him from across the 'net**

* * *

As Kariya Matou's stomach voided itself, pale worms fell onto the ground.

Despite his body's constant attempts to betray him with painful convulsions, Kariya managed to perfectly draw the summoning glyph and grit out the incantation.

Once the dust cleared, he found himself standing before, what he thought was, at first glance, a tall woman wearing fearsome insectoid armor, complete with antennae and compound eyes on her helmet.

Zouken leered at his wayward son. "Even with the catalyst I provided, you could not call the Servant I meant you to. Truly, Kariya, are there no limits to your failure? Place her under the spell of Mad Enhancement and begone. Do not return until at least one enemy Servant is dead."

Gritting his teeth - as much from hatred of Zouken's mockery as from the agony of countless worms squirming through his body - Kariya prepared to do so until Berserker spoke up.

"If your health is half as bad as it looks, then don't even bother. Unless we get into a fight in the next five minutes, you'll just be wasting your energy. No argument against leaving this pit, though."

Furious, Zouken glowered at the Servant. "You dare disrepect me, worthless insect?"

Berserker seemed, if anything, rather pleased with the patriarch's reaction. "As stupid as you are ugly, I see. The thought of _you_ being my Master... I might've killed myself on the spot."

Then she paused for a moment, as if in comtemplation, before she corrected herself. "Rather, I would have killed _you_ on sight and sought another Master."

Berserker then turned to the still-kneeling Kariya and effortlessly hauled him to his feet. "Come Master, let us leave. I can't decide what offends me more - the foul stench, or this worthless wreck standing before me."

With that, the insect-armored woman abruptly grabbed Kariya by the arm and proceeded to drag him from the room.

* * *

Kiritsugu Emiya had been hired by the Einzbern family to represent them in the fourth Holy Grail War, and they had provided him with a catalyst that should summon the legendary King Arthur.

And, under the usual circumstances it would've turned out that way. However, the Grail was not allowing the usual set of circumstances. And so, having been expecting King Arthur, Kiritsugu Emiya was rather surprised when he found himself face to face with a well-muscled young man with lonb black hair in a ponytail, sweatpants, and a green muscle shirt.

Irisviel noted that he was rather handsome, as well.

Despite knowing the probable answer - it _was_ technically possible that the King of Knights had intentionally chosen to appear in modern workout clothes for whatever reason - Kiritsugu asked anyway. "Are you the Servant Saber, Arthur Pendragon?"

The man stepped forward and extended his hand. "Nope, not King Arthur. I am Servant Saber, though. Nice to meet ya."

Staring at Saber's outstretched hand for a second, Kiritsugu quickly recovered and shook it. It didn't really matter if this Saber wasn't King Arthur - while he'd had a general outline of how he planned on fighting the War, the Magus Killer had been waiting until after the summoning to make any real strategies anyway. No plan survives first contact with the enemy, after all. _Or one's allies_, Kiritsugu mused.

"My name is Kiritsugu Emiya, and I am your Master. If you aren't the King of Knights, however, then... just who are you?"

With a friendly grin, Saber replied, "I'm the Green Ranger, of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. But you can call me Tommy Oliver."

* * *

With Tokiomi and Kirei's own father Risei - the priest who would oversee the War - watching, Kirei Kotomine summoned his Servant.

Obscured by the smoke created by the summoning, a figure yelled, "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"

When the dust settled, there stood a ninja. At least, the design of his costume gave the impression of a ninja motif, except for two things. First, he was wearing a helmet similar to those used for safe motorcycle riding, and second... said costume seemed to be made of yellow spandex.

"Yellow Ranger, at your service!"

The self-proclaimed Yellow Ranger made a show of looking around, observing the dungeon-like study the group was in and taking note of the older men in the room. "So... what's with this other Master here, you guys already have an alliance or something?"

Tokiomi smiled and replied, "Yes, I suppose you could say that."

Now the figure seemed to be confused. "Um... tall, dark, and quiet guy here is supposed to be my Master, right?"

Kotomine replied, "Yes. I am your Master. And you are... Assassin?"

Giving the priest two thumbs-up, the Yellow Ranger replied, "Yep!"

Risei muttered something derogatory about yellow spandex under his breath, at which point Assassin scared the hell out of Risei by clapping him on the shoulder from behind. While Risei could still see Assassin standing in front of him.

Carefree as a bird, Assassin asked, "What was that about my uniform?"

Risei twirled around, almost knocking Assassin back a few feet. He looked, finding an Assassin on either side of him. "W-_what?_ You're not Hassan, how can you _do_ that?"

Cool as a cucumber, Assassin put his hands in the air to show no ill intent and said, "I'm a Power Ranger. And a student of Wind Ninja Academy. So... yeah, I can kinda do that."

Kirei's lip quirked, as if he were trying to smile. His father's discomfort was... what was the word? _Amusing_.

Perhaps Kirei might find the answer he sought in this Grail War after all.

* * *

Tokiomi had long had the catalyst he planned to use for the summoning - an ancient snake skin that should summon Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes. However, he had been holding off in the hopes of getting him in a favorable class. Now that only a few Servants remained, he felt it was time.

After the dust from the summoning cleared, Tokiomi saw a man in a military-esque uniform, with a red undershirt beneath his unzipped jacket. The Servant immediately saluted. "Carter Grayson of Operation Lightspeed, reporting for duty as Servant Archer."

Tokiomi sighed. On the one hand, this completely annihilated whatever semblance of a plan he had for the War. On the _other_ hand, the Archer he got was clearly more respectful than Gilgamesh probably would've been - it would seem he'd lost power in exchange for reliability.

"At ease, Archer. ... Well, you're obviously not the Servant I planned on working with... but I trust you'll get me through the War?"

Relaxing his posture a little and resting his hands behind his back, Archer replied, "I'd rather keep this brawl between Servants, keeping Masters and innocent people out of it if possible. That said, I have no intention of losing."

Tokiomi chuckled, before rising from his chair and walking to Archer. "Fair enough, I suppose. Well then, Archer, let this be the start of a fine partnership."

With that, Master and Servant shook hands.

* * *

Waver Velvet considered himself doubly-successful. First, he'd woken up one day with Command Spells on his hand, meaning that despite his relative lack of pedigree, he'd been deemed worthy as a Master by the Holy Grail itself.

And then, second, he'd managed to steal his teacher, Kayneth's, catalyst in order to summon a Heroic Spirit.

Granted, Waver had no idea who the tattered cape should've summoned, but he certainly wasn't expecting an aloof guy a bit older than him dressed in a black jacket and slacks.

Visibly unimpressed, the man snorted, "So you're my Master, eh? I'm Servant Rider. Rest assured that I'll claim the Holy Grail. ... You look like you have a request."

Waver replied, "One of the other Masters - assuming he gets a Servant after I took your catalyst - is Kayneth. I want you to beat him and his Servant before any of the others."

Rider raised an eyebrow, intrigued. He muttered, "A thief summoned by a thief, eh?"

What he said loud enough to be heard, however, was "Any particular reason?"

Waver proceeded to explain the source of his grudge against Kayneth - namely, that Waver had published a paper at the Clock Tower to the effect that the talent of a Magus was not necessarily dependent upon how many generations his family had been studying Magecraft; the older families would, of course, likely have a head start, but even a nobody with only two generations behind him could catch up if he tried hard enough.

"And after he read my paper, he tore it up in the middle of class and mocked me out of the room!"

Rider, having taken a seat on a bean-bag chair while his Master ranted, took a moment to consider. "It sounds to me, Master, like you don't want this enemy of yours defeated."

Waver opened his mouth to retort when Rider continued, "I think that what you _really_ want... is to see him helpless and _humiliated_, like he did to you. Now, I have no problems doing either, but you need to be honest with yourself and with me. Do you merely want him dead? Or do you want him disgraced, broken and humiliated, and _then_ killed?"

Waver stopped, and considered. What _did_ he want? To prove that Kayneth was wrong. Simply killing him could be dismissed as a fluke, or the work of another Master.

Waver licked his lips. "Can you do it? Break his pride and his reputation?"

Rider smirked. "Just say the word, and I'll see what I can do."

Waver appeared to struggle for a few seconds, before his face set in a determined expression. "Do it, Rider."

The Servant grinned. "I'll get right on it, then."

A wave of his hand, and a thick white miasma appeared on the wall. Rider began heading into it, but stopped just short of entering. Speaking over his shoulder, he asked, "Wanna come with me and see for yourself?"

Waver paused, thinking it over. On the one hand, he did want to personally see Kayneth as a wreck of a man, in despair. On the other hand, he also wanted to stay safe in his hiding place. "Not at present, Rider. When it's time to finish the job, come get me then."

Rider nodded, before stepping into the miasma. As he faded and could no longer be seen, the energy vanished.

* * *

Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi growled, furious that someone had stolen the catalyst with which he'd intended to summon Alexander the Great. Still, things weren't so bad overall. Even if his alternate Servant would likely be much weaker, he still had his wife by his side, and he could make sure to take revenge on whatever whelp had dared to steal from him.

The second catalyst _should_ have summoned Diarmuid of the Love Spot. What the Master found standing before him, however, was some high school kid with brown hair, a red shirt, jeans, and a cocky grin.

The Servant sized up the two adults - taking notably longer to gaze at Sola-Ui - before asking, "So who's my Master here?"

Glaring at the boy, Kayneth declared, "I am your Master. However, Sola-Ui - my wife, over here - has the task of providing you with mana. Which class are you?"

The Servant took a few seconds to stare at Sola-Ui in deep thought, before answering, "Call me Lancer."

Then, shrugging, Lancer plopped down on the couch and made himself comfortable. "As much mana as I'm getting right now, I can fight and probably beat most enemies without any problems. ... _Unless_ you want me to go full-power for more than about three minutes in a battle, in which case I'll need either mana from the both of you or an _immediate_ recharge before and/or after the fight. And I'm gonna say right now, I'm not eating anybody."

Kayneth was about to reprimand Lancer for his casual demeanor, but paused. "What do you mean, full-power?"

"Well, I've got an Anti-Army support Noble Phantasm that, well... I could take out an entire army with it active for a long enough time. And then I've got an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm that - assuming there were enough power to keep it going - could conceivably wreck the entire city in the space of a night. And it's not that I'm not getting a lot of power to start with - that's not a problem by itself - it's more that... well, those two Phantasms are just really mana exhaustive."

Kayneth paused to consider that. "Too exhaustive for us to use them at all?"

Lancer shook his head with a grin. "Nah, even though I've got just three minutes of either of them, there's probably not anyone I can't beat in that time."

* * *

Hoping that the eighth attempt would be the charm, Ryuunosuke drew the bloody runes on the ground. He'd made a different mistake each time thus far, but the cheerful serial killer was persistent. He didn't know if it was really possibly to summon and meet with a demon, but if it ultimately proved impossible... well, it wouldn't be for lack of trying.

Suddenly, his hand felt like it was on fire, as another rune burned itself into his hand. The circle on the floor glowed a brilliant flash of red and billowed massive quantities of smoke, and then nothing happened for a moment.

Then the building shook until it seemed as if the entire structure seemed that it would fall apart, before the small earthquake came to an end.

At that moment, a hoarse voice roared, **"I AM CASTER, LORD ZEDD! EMPEROR OF **_**ALL EVIL **_**WITHIN THIS GALAXY!"**

Ryuunosuke saw the creature that had appeared, and was completely awestruck. Lord Zedd was a human-looking figure without a single scrap of skin covering his exposed muscles. Or a skull, in the case of his pulsating brain. Zedd's face was covered by a steel mask with a blood-red vizor, and he had a giant scepter with a stylized 'Z' at the tip of it.

"So... COOOOOOL! ! !"

Zedd immediately turned to Ryuunosuke, who had apparently forgotten how to even stand in the presence of his great darkness. Taking a few steps forward, Zedd pointed at the orange-haired Master and demanded, **"You there! Are you the one who called upon my dark sorcery?"**

Ryuunosuke couldn't believe it - he was talking to a real, live demon!

"Y-yeah, I did the stuff in that book to call you, and I even have a sacrifice for you!"

As the villainous redhead pointed to the helpless children in the corner of the room, Zedd regarded both his summoner and the designated sacrifice for a split second. **"What is your name, boy?"**

"Ryuunosuke! Ryuunosuke Uryuu! So, um... do you have a really cool way to kill people?"

Booming with laughter, Zedd declared, **"I see! Very well then, Ryuunosuke, swear your neverending loyalty to me, and I will show you ever-greater heights of DARKNESS!"**

With this promise, Zedd extended his hand to the children and fried them all with electricity for several seconds, before he then absorbed their screaming souls into himself, his hellish laughter booming all the while.

As the little boys and girls faded to dust and their souls were eaten, fluids began flowing through the various tubes across Zedd's body.

"That... that was SO AWESOME! I'm gonna follow you EVERYWHERE, and be your loyal servant forever!"

* * *

Deep within the sewers beneath Fuyuki, a darkness stirred.

Three times had the Heaven's Feel ritual been attempted, and three times had it failed to reach fruition.

There was enough power accumulated within the Grail for three Magi to reach Akasha immediately if they wished, but none realized it.

Angra Mainyu, however had been imprisoned within that pool of mana for the neighborhood of sixty years. He alone - the Servant that had been so weak as to be registered as a human - had been in the position to make a wish.

And that wish had just come true.

Clad only in brown pants, all the evils of the world had manifest as a Master in the Fourth War. He had none of the powers he should have as a Servant or otherwise magic-based being, but would still return to the Grail once killed.

And in exchange for the power loss, he had a Servant of his own.

A black knight bent on revenge, with golden horns sticking out from either side of his spheroid helmet like a bull's.

Angra Mainyu leaned back against the filth-covered wall and smiled. "Avenger, I have but one order for you."

"And what is that?"

With a malevolent grin, Angra Mainyu declared, "Go forth as the representative of my hatred. Cut down every enemy Master and Servant you can. Let nothing but your own survival stop you. If you have to cut down so-called innocents in order to reach your target... then so much the better."

Avenger turned to leave, silent for the longest time. Eventually, he declared, "I fight for my revenge. Not yours."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Welp, everybody's summoned their Servants! Saber, Archer, Assassin, and Caster have already revealed who they are - Assassin moreso to you guys than to his Master - and while I tried not to make it **_**too**_** obvious, it's probably easy to guess who Berserker, Lancer, and Avenger are as well. Kamen Rider fans probably already know who Rider is, or at least have a 50-50 guess of getting it right.**

**Servant Saber:  
Real Name: Tommy Oliver (Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers)  
Green Ranger  
Alignment: Lawful Good  
Alternate classes: Berserker (Evil Green Ranger), Assassin (Black Dino Ranger), Rider (Red Turbo Ranger)****  
Strength: B+  
Endurance: B+  
Agility: B  
Mana: C-  
Luck: A+  
**

**Skills**

**Magic Resistance: C: As the Mighty Morphin' Green Ranger never had any measure of Magic Resistance in life, this skill is unusually low for a Servant of the Saber class. Had Saber been summoned as the Red Zeo Ranger, this skill would be at Rank B.**

**Riding: B: Can master almost any mundane vehicle, but is unable to Ride mythic or phantom beasts, and can only pilot Zords that are directly connected to his legend.**

**Instinct: B: Saber can "feel" the best course of action for him to take during battle.**

**Noble Phantasms**

_**Dragonzord:**_** A++ Anti-Fortress: Tommy summons the Dragonzord by using his Dragon Dagger as a flute. He can choose to control it either exclusively via music commands, or by entering the cockpit himself. Using the flute allows him to put it on autopilot while he deals with smaller enemies personally, but manual piloting allows for the superior control needed against powerful giant-sized opponents.**

_**Dragon Dagger:**_** B/A Anti-Unit: the Green Ranger's signature weapon. Can be used as a flute to summon and control the Dragonzord, and is capable of flinging energy blasts. These knife beams are treated as 'Rank A'.**

_**Dragon Shield:**_** B Support: Affords partial resistance against all types of attacks, and can provide a Rank Up to Strength, Endurance, and Agility.**


	2. Fight!

**Morphin' Fate**

**I have a notation about Saber that I forgot to mention last time - although he was summoned as the Mighty Morphin' Green Ranger, Tommy's memories cover all the way up to **_**Dino Thunder**_**, including the **_**Wild Force**_** episode 'Forever Red'. Also, I edited the previous chapter to include Saber's skills, correct Avenger's characterization, and fix a few other problems I noticed.**

**Hi there!**

* * *

Lancer sighed as he walked through the back streets of Fuyuki. As per Kayneth's orders, Lancer was to head over to the docks and flare up his energy as a challenge and take out whatever Servants appeared to face him.

To be perfectly honest, he was a little uncomfortable with it, but that was mostly because of his habits as a Power Ranger - as a rule, a Power Ranger didn't go around starting fights.

A Power Ranger went to a fight already in progress and _ended_ it.

Still, taking the initiative like this suited him, so he was kind of excited as well.

Or maybe Lancer was just a little irritated that he was missing the soccer game across town.

As he considered this, a deep and computerized voice echoed throughout the alley.

**"KAMEN RIDE: NADESHIKO! KAMEN RIDE: SIREN! KAMEN RIDE: FEMME!"**

At that time, a thick white miasma appeared in before Lancer, and through it stepped a figure wearing silver spandex and a helmet shaped a bit like a space shuttle. And the figure was very, _very_ definitely female. She was flanked on either side by identical figures in black spandex and white armor. Also female.

Then, behind the trio, Servant Rider appeared. "Nothing personal against _you_, Lancer, but I can't have you at the big showdown just yet. I'm a nice enough guy, though, so I made some lady friends to keep you company. Please have the decency to stay occupied for a while, ne?"

With that, Rider disappeared back into the miasma, leaving Lancer to deal with the summoned Kamen Riders.

Lancer sighed and grumbled, "Master, you should probably know I'm gonna be late..."

_"Has another Servant gotten in your way?"_

"Yeah, but he summoned someone else to hold me up and then left before I could tell who he is."

_"So that Servant left already... Nothing for it, I suppose. Destroy his familiar and then proceed as planned. Don't resort to a Noble Phantasm unless you're completely outclassed, however. I, in the meantime, shall wait at the hotel."_

Lancer groaned, "Dammit, I hate fighting girls..." before he complied by activating the Dino Morpher on his wrist.

"DINO THUNDER, POWER UP!"

The alleyway where Lancer was standing exploded, and there now stood a figure in a red spandex costume, with a white diamond pattern on the arms and legs. On his chest was an emblem in the shape of a T-rex footprint, and his helmet gave the impression of a Dinosaur motif.

The Red Dino Ranger had arrived.

Before Lancer could act further, however, Kamen Rider Nadeshiko tackled him in a burst of steam from her jetpack, with Femme and Siren hot on her heels.

* * *

"So tell me, Master, why did you summon me?"

Kariya glanced at where the spirit-formed Berserker ought to be as he shuffled along the sewers. "I didn't expect you to care, honestly."

Rolling her eyes, Berserker replied, "I _don't_, actually. But I'm bored as hell, and talking with you is the only thing I have at present that even _begins_ approaching entertainment."

Swiftly growing irritated at his contemplative silence, Beserker took a commanding tone and growled, "So entertain me, _cripple_."

Kariya turned and glared at Berserker. The thought of using a Command Seal to put in her line briefly occurred to him, before he immediately dismissed it as both needlessly petty and not worth the trouble she'd doubtless give him over it later.

"It's a long story," he began with a sigh. Upon feeling her tense with impatience, he couldn't help but smirk a little. "...but I guess I can trouble you with the condensed version if you're _that_ desperate for something to listen to.

"I was in love with a certain woman ever since we were children. And in the end, she married someone else - Tokiomi Tohsaka. He, too, is a Master in this War."

"So it's revenge on the man who stole your love from you?"

Kariya stopped, and openly smirked at Berserker. "Did you want a story, or not?"

Having apparently convinced the self-important Servant that silence would suit her immediate goals best for the time being, the half worm-eaten Master continued.

"Anyway, the woman - Aoi - and Tokiomi had two daughters. And this is where the problem lie - by tradition, only one child can inherit the Magic Crest of a family, and yet Tokiomi wasn't able to make that choice by himself. Giving one the gift of magecraft, as he saw it, meant depriving his other daughter of that same gift. And that's when my family's patriarch - the old worm who was with me when I summoned you - came to him with a deal. The Matou family is dying, while both Tohsaka children have great aptitude for magic."

Instantly able to see where this was going, Berserker concluded, "So the decrepit freak offered to take one of the girls off of your rival's hands, granting a future of magecraft to both."

Kariya nodded. "However... as great as his love for his children is, Tokiomi's a terrible judge of character. Even you could see what kind of monster that man is, but Tokiomi seemed to have no idea of what he was doing... when he sold his youngest daughter Sakura to that devil."

Berserker contemplated for a moment. "Sakura... when you say that name, you sound like a father concerned for his _own _daughter. So what's the connection?"

Kariya stopped and stared at Berserker, his eyebrow raised.

"What? I enjoy killing and terrorizing others for the sake of doing it, but I know full well the bond between a loving father and child. Enough to know it when I see it."

Her Master continued staring at her for a few seconds, before turning back and continuing forward. "Rin and Sakura are the children of the woman I love, and over the past few years I've come to care about them as if they _were_ my own daughters. In order to save Sakura, I _must_ get the Holy Grail."

Berserker took this into consideration. If the situation were reversed - if Kariya had somehow appeared in _her_ world - Berserker knew without a doubt that Kariya Matou would've fought tooth and nail against her father, and sided with the Power Rangers.

But the conviction in his voice, when Kariya spoke of protecting that little girl he kept mentioning... just a little bit, it reminded Berserker of her own father.

Perhaps the two, in those terms, weren't so different after all.

"I suppose I can respect a father fighting for his daughter, blood or not. So then, I take it you want me to kill Tokiomi first?"

Rather surprised at Berserker's remark - but less so at her flippant tone - Kariya shook his head. "I promised Aoi not to target Tokiomi in this War, and I have no plan to break that promise.

"His Servant, however, is fair game. Berserker, if at all possible I want you to kill the Servant Archer first."

At this time, the duo arrived near the docks, and Berserker could sense two other Servants - one was openly radiating energy as a challenge, while the other seemed to be suppressing his power, probably with the intent to hang back and observe.

Berserker, however, could recognize both. "Tell me," she slowly began. "Does Archer dress like some kind of government officer when not in morph?"

Kariya was impressed. "You knew him in life?"

The cruel, vengeful smile on Berserker's face sent a shiver of fear down her Master's spine. "Knew him? He helped _kill_ me. This time, at least, I'm going to enjoy following your orders."

"Just contain yourself until the right moment. Then, feel free to cut loose."

* * *

"You seem remarkably calm, Saber."

If Saber was surprised at Irisviel's comment, he didn't show it. "Nah, I've just gotten good at hiding it. Thought the Grail was only supposed to summon Heroes, though. Given that, the sheer fury coming off of this place just doesn't make any sense."

Iri explained, "Even though the Einzberns helped to create the Grail, there is still so much we don't know about it. It's possible that it could always have summoned 'evil' Servants, as well as Heroes and anti-heroes, and that none are known to have appeared before - save for Avenger in the last War - is just a coincidence."

Saber let out a depressed sigh. "If that's really all it boils down to, I'll eat my morpher."

At that moment, a deep voice spooked the duo as he growled, "A Servant without a weapon is either worthless or a fool. You should know that better than anyone... with your constant power losses."

Quickly turning to stand between Iri and the enemy, Saber regarded his opponent, before demanding his identity.

The knight in black armor paused for a moment, before raising his sword. The enemy Servant declared, "I am Avenger. Die."

With that, he rushed Saber, attempting to remove his head.

Caught off-guard, Saber barely managed to duck in time, before he gathered his wits and kicked Avenger's legs out from under him.

As Avenger rolled over and began rising, Saber produced his Power Morpher and yelled, **"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"**

The Morpher immediately generated an intense energy field, forcing Avenger to back off slightly.

_**"DRAGONZORD!"**_

The energy then converged around Saber, until the young man had vanished. And in his place, stood the Green Power Ranger.

"I don't know what your problem is, Avenger, but if you plan on hurting innocent people, then I'll have to take you down!"

Instead of bothering to reply, Avenger brought his longsword down on Saber again, only to be parried by the Green Ranger's Dragon Dagger.

Meanwhile, from the top of a nearby building, Kiritsugu kept an eye on the battle through the scope of his sniper rifle, periodically taking his eye off of the Servants to monitor Irisviel.

Given the state of affairs from the previous War, Avenger was supposed to be fairly weak as a class. And yet the Avenger below him... that black knight was keeping up with Saber, a Servant of what was generally regarded to be the best class.

After an exchange of parried blows, Avenger knocked Saber back with one hand... before sheathing his Magna Sword and converting it into the Magna Blaster in one smooth motion while in mid-spin and firing a barrage of laser bolts at Irisviel.

For the first time in well over a decade, Kiritsugu remembered what it was like to feel fear. Not fear for himself, but fear for someone else. But even the Magus Killer could not react in time to protect his beloved wife, not this time.

A shout of alarm echoed across the docks, as a new player arrived on the scene and tackled Irisviel out of harm's way.

Clad in a military uniform with a red undershirt, the man asked, "Are you all right, ma'am?"

Surprised that some stranger had seemingly come out of nowhere to protect her, Irisviel could only nod before asking, "Who are you?"

Ignoring her, the Servant turned to face Avenger. "My original mission was just to observe the capabilities of any Servants to arrive here. But if you're going to bring innocent people into this fight - Master or not - then I'm going to have to deal with you."

Entering a stance, he activated the morpher on his wrist. "Lightspeed... RESCUE!"

A massive shield appeared before him with a red-and-white design on it, before the shield moved back and coated the Servant in a spandex uniform of the same color pattern. Immediately after, a red helmet covered the Servant's head, with a shield-shaped opaque visor adorning the front.

Operation Lightspeed's Red Ranger had entered the battle.

Drawing his sidearm, Archer fired several shots at Avenger while dashing off to the side, making it slightly harder for Avenger to line up a counterattack. Before Avenger could even attempt to do so, however, he had to convert the Magna Blaster back into the Magna Sword to fend off Saber's attack.

Against either one, Avenger had more or less an even chance of victory. But with Saber forcing him to play defense up close, and Archer periodically assaulting him from afar, Avenger knew he was doomed unless the situation changed again.

* * *

So it was, perhaps, fortunate that at that moment, the pavement a few meters to the side exploded as Berserker lunged at the Red Lightspeed Ranger with a hate-filled battle cry.

_"DIE, ARCHER!"_

With that, the insectoid-armored woman swung her staff around like a bat and flung Archer halfway across the pier.

The moment Avenger caught sight of the new variable, he was filled with hatred and rage.

He had thought he'd need to go through the entire roster of Servants before he had a chance for revenge against Scorpius.

And yet suddenly, the perfect opportunity had presented itself to him.

That monstrous conqueror had taken Avenger's only child from him.

And now, Avenger had a chance to pay the favor back. It was a shame, however, that Avenger would not get to see the late Scorpius' reaction to his beloved daughter's death.

Swatting Saber away with a backhand, Avenger declared, "Our fight is over for now, Ranger."

Then, switching his weapon back to rifle form, Avenger took one second to confirm his aim, before shooting Berserker in the back and sending the female Servant staggering forward.

Rather than rush to his target, Avenger took his time walking forward. He had lingered among the living for three thousand years after his son's death, and his own, for this chance.

Judging from that look in her eye, Berserker wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"I've waited a long time for this, heir of Scorpius. Your father killed my son. And you, Trakeena, will die in your father's place. A child for a child."

Chest heaving as she recovered from Avenger's back attack, Berserker glared at Avenger with more hatred than anyone present had ever seen in a single being.

"If anyone dies here, it will be _you_... Magna Defender!"

With that, Berserker let out a wordless scream and activated her Mad Enhancement.

Gone was the armored woman.

In her place was an emerald insectoid monster.

Vengeance incarnate.

Madness made flesh.

The Knights of Sword and Bow forgotten, these two Servants charged, each hellbent on killing the other.

* * *

Kiritsugu had been listening in through the link with Saber. _So we know that Avenger is called Magna Defender, and that Berserker's true name is Trakeena. Their legends appear to be closely linked, and Berserker seems to have some connection with Archer as well._

By this point, he had recovered from the shock of seeing Irisviel targeted. Instead, he was apalled at himself for having taken so long to realize the obvious consequence of his plan - namely, that by using Irisviel to hide his identity as the Master of Saber... he had run the risk of seeing his beloved wife die for him.

As Saber watched Avenger and Berserker tear into each other like rabid wolverines, he spoke through the Master-Servant link. "Looks like they're really going at it. What do you want me to do, Master?"

Though the Green Ranger was loathe to attack someone while their back was turned, he'd consent to fighting dirty if it meant protecting innocent lives. Namely, Irisviel. Saber was _still_ mentally shaking his head at Kiritsugu's actions. After all, if the situation were reversed, he would _never_ have put Kimberly in harm's way like that.

Kiritsugu considered for a split-second, before relaying new orders. _"Leave them be for now, and focus on protecting Irisviel. Best case scenario, they'll kill each other. If one lives, attack to kill. I'd rather not have you resort to that Noble Phantasm of yours yet, since you said it's easily recognizable."_

Saber rolled his eyes, having guessed that his orders would be along those lines. He kept silent, though. Irisviel had reached a compromise between the two men - for a time, Saber would follow Kiritsugu's lead without complaint. And in exchange, the Einzbern woman had convinced her husband to fight according to Saber's way of doing things for a while afterward.

"Understood. ... You know, I wouldn't need to protect her if you hadn't been so intent on putting her in danger in the first place."

Kiritsugu took a moment to ensure his voice was void of emotion when he replied, _"I'm already aware of that."_

Having placed himself directly between Irisviel and the brawl between Berserker and Avenger, Saber snarked, "Great. Just _fantastic_."

Meanwhile, across the docks, Archer had recovered from Berserker's surprise attack, and was also observing the two.

* * *

It was pure carnage. At first glance, it would appear that Berserker was mopping the floor with Avenger. After all, the monster was far stronger than the knight, and kept bashing Avenger into the ground or several meters away with each strike.

To one who had been observing for a time, however, Avenger would come out on top. He was meeting Berserker's attacks with minimal resistance and thus sustaining minimal injury from the excess of force, while Berserker was expending more and more energy with each passing moment.

Furthermore, that observer would have noticed that no matter how hard Berserker smacked him around, Avenger simply rose again a scant second later as if he hadn't been struck at all.

And then, as, Berserker missed and overextended her reach, Avenger exploited the moment of weakness for all it was worth. First, he nailed her in the face with several consecutive shots from the Magna Blaster, before converting it back to sword form and stabbing her chest.

Then, before the emerald Berserker had a chance to recover from the momentary stun, Avenger kicked her off of his blade before spinning around and cutting across her stomach.

Berserker's skin was too dense for Avenger to properly disembowel her like he'd planned, but it wasn't a problem.

His wrath had been building up for three thousand years. No need to let it all out at once.

Avenger punched Berserker in the throat, and then attempted to run her through on his sword again.

This time, however, Berserker recovered too quickly, and sidestepped the stab before bringing around her staff and slamming Avenger through the pavement and into the sewers.

With a feral roar, the instectoid monster followed after, and stomped his helmeted head into the pavement like a child throwing a tantrum.

After about ten seconds, however, Berserker returned to her previous form as her Mad Enhancement deactivated. Sensing that her Master was in mortal danger from mana exhaustion, the woman sneered at Avenger. "Much as I'd love to finish you off and get back to killing that Lightspeed Ranger, ensuring my own life comes first."

With that, Berserker quickly returned to her Master, before teleporting them both away.

Unwilling to give up his vengeance just yet - especially when he had come so close - Avenger quickly rose and attempted to give chase.

* * *

Meanwhile, Archer reported in to his Master. "Berserker's escaped, and Avenger's in pursuit. Want me to stay here and monitor Saber, or join the hunt for Berserker?"

_"If you've already gauged their capabilities, then let them go. For the time being, see what you can get out of the Einzbern Servant."_

"Actually, I met him in life. Saber's at a disadvantage here - pretty much everyone in my entire universe has heard of Tommy Oliver."

_"I see. So then, is he your world's Gilgamesh?"_

Archer took a moment to ponder that, unsure for a moment of what Tokiomi meant.

"He's widely regarded as the ultimate Power Ranger, if that's what you're asking. He's not the strongest, or the toughest, or the smartest. But in terms of skill and experience? He's the best, bar none. I don't know why he's been fighting so sloppily tonight, but I advise making use of this chance to take him out now."

_"In that case, I'll trust your judgment."_

Archer nodded, before drawing his sidearm and taking aim at Saber.

Saber instinctively saw it coming, however, and effortlessly deflected the bolt to the side with his Dragon Dagger.

* * *

From his cover within the earth, Assassin observed the battle. "I'm getting kinda antsy here, dude. C'mon Kirei, let me get in the game already!"

Kotomine found himself in an unusual quandary. On the one hand, he was bound by his alliance to Tokiomi, and breaking that alliance wouldn't do him any good yet. On the other, he felt that Saber's Master, Kiritsugu Emiya, was the only one who could answer Kotomine's questions. So he needed to keep Emiya in the War for a while.

_"... Not yet. But if another player should interfere, stop them."_

* * *

Meanwhile, Lancer had been kept quite occupied by the female Kamen Riders.

Specifically, trying to keep them from having their way with him. At first, Lancer had thought the ladies were trying to kill him. Then, as the 'battle' continued, he realized they had something different on their mind.

Siren and Femme had been systematically trying to cut open Lancer's suit, while Nadeshiko was... very, very grabby.

Ordinarily, Lancer might not have put up nearly so much resistance against three women trying so hard to get their hands on him, except for two factors: one, Lancer consistently made it a point to put his appreciation of the fairer sex on hold while he was on the clock; and two, they were quite frankly creeping him out. Mostly because, while they would utter brief battle cries when attack, or cry out in pain when he struck them... the female Kamen Riders were otherwise silent.

Like puppets with a preset voice chip. Or rather... like life-sized action figures.

Lancer appreciated a fine-looking babe, but he'd like to think he was grown-up enough not to be attracted to dolls.

As that thought crossed his mind, however, the three Riders suddenly stopped attacking.

From all around them, Rider's voice echoed, "And here I thought I was being a nice guy, giving you a shot at some ladies. No matter now, I've got a part for you to play. Such a useful tool you are, Lancer."

Before Lancer could respond, the white miasma appeared beneath him, causing the Servant of Spear to fall through it.

* * *

At the docks, Lancer fell through the miasma and arrived on a crate out of the battlezone.

Getting to his feet, he saw two other Rangers fighting each other. And upon recognizing both, Lancer immediately came to a decision.

Rider's interference wasn't important anymore. Lancer was going to help his teammate and mentor.

Crossing his arms, Lancer activated one of his Skills as the diamond pattern on his limbs extended into sharp armor plates facing behind him.

"Super Dino Mode!"

* * *

Saber had managed to close the gap, forcing Archer to switch to his V-Lancer in an attempt to keep the Green Ranger from cutting him open.

However, the V-Lancer gave Archer enough of a range advantage that Saber couldn't properly move in to his optimal range.

And then Lancer nailed Archer with a flying kick to the head, before backflipping off of him. Turning to Saber, Lancer asked, "You okay, Dr. O?"

Saber nodded. "A little off today, but other than that, yeah, I'm fine. I'm guessing you're on my side?"

"Far as I know, yeah," came the reply.

As the time-displaced teammates turned back to face Archer, he promptly regained some distance and shot at them again.

Lancer prepared to charge in, before a hand burst from the ground beneath him, grabbed his foot, and threw him across the way.

"Sorry dude, but the boss-man says you gotta go!"

Assassin had entered the battle.

* * *

While Saber and Archer resumed their previous battle, Lancer looked up to see not one but _two_ Assassins punch him in the chest, knocking him back several feet.

"Dude, you're a Red Ranger. Shouldn't you be... y'know... putting up a better fight than this?"

Immediately getting back to his feet, Lancer growled, "Just _watch_ me!"

Assassin summoned a large battle hammer, before rushing at Lancer.

The Red Dino Ranger blocked the attack with the plates on his arms, before slamming his head into Assassin's. Then, before the Yellow Ninja Ranger could react further, he deactivated his Super Dino Mode and summoned the Tyrannostaff.

Assassin dismissed his hammer and immediately drew his ninja sword, opting to sacrifice power for speed.

* * *

Archer was beginning to wear down - despite his military training, the fact was that due to his preference for ranged combat, Archer's stamina wasn't quite as great as most other Power Rangers.

Superhuman, yes, but not to the degree of his counterparts in most other Ranger teams.

To make matters worse, Saber had somehow given him the slip. While the Green Ranger had been rather sloppy earlier, he seemed to have finally gotten his head in the game, and had become much more of a threat.

And now that Saber had managed to escape Archer's view amongst the field of crates...

The Green Ranger suddenly emerged from right in front of Archer, startling the Red Ranger despite himself, and fired an energy blast directly into the scarlet Servant's chest, knocking him back through several dozen crates.

Just before Saber could close in for the kill, lightning burst down from the heavens and struck them both.

* * *

Unfortunately, Kiritsugu's plan was pretty much going to waste. After all, it had hinged on at least one other Master being present to observe the battle in person. So that Kiritsugu or Maiya could kill them, naturally.

Instead, it seemed that they and Irisviel had been the _only_ non-Servants in attendance.

Just as Kiritsugu was musing on this, the area was hit with several lightning bolts that caused massive explosions on impact.

**"KNEEL BEFORE LORD ZEDD, GALACTIC EMPEROR!"**

Slouching upon a massive throne that had been instantly raised from the concrete was Caster.

Standing, the skinless Servant slammed his scepter into the ground, flinging several more electrical blasts at the other heroes.

* * *

Saber stared at Zedd, and if his helmet were off, everyone would have seen the color drain from his face. "Crap."

As they rose to their feet, Archer, Lancer, and Assassin shared a brief look, before standing with Saber.

Getting his head back into the game, Tommy said, "The entire world's at stake here, we need to join forces against this guy."

Assassin clapped him on the shoulder. "Dude, you didn't need to say anything. We're Power Rangers. He's the most obvious supervillain since Lothor. What were we gonna do, _not_ team up?"

Archer nodded, and Lancer gave Saber a thumbs-up.

"Thanks guys."

Then, without another word between them, the assembled Power Rangers turned to face Zedd and attacked.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

**Kamen Rider Nadeshiko is from the **_**Kamen Rider OOO**_** and **_**Kamen Rider Fourze**_** crossover movie. Femme is from the movie for **_**Kamen Rider Ryuki**_**, while Siren is her US counterpart from **_**Kamen Rider Dragon Knight**_**. The Nadeshiko, Femme, and Siren seen here don't have much in common with their canon selves behavior-wise. This will be explained a little further down, however, so keep reading!**

**Servant Rider:  
Real Name: Daiki Kaitou (Kamen Rider Decade)  
Kamen Rider DiEnd  
Theme tune: Treasure Sniper (Kamen Rider Decade soundtrack)  
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral  
Strength: D  
Endurance: D  
Agility: B+  
Mana: A  
Luck: B+**

**Skills:**

**Independent Action: A: Allows Rider to remain in action for as long as a week without a Master. However, he cannot use a Noble Phantasm unless he is obtaining mana from a Master.**

**Riding: A**

**Nature of a Rebellious Spirit: A: Negates the effect of Charisma of equal rank.**

**Subversive Activities: C**

**Eye of the Mind (False): B**

**Noble Phantasms:**

_**Diendriver**_**: B Multipurpose: Has the following functions: Allows Rider to transform into Kamen Rider DiEnd; allows him to summon other Kamen Riders to fight for him at weakened strength compared to a proper Servant; can be used as a blaster. Summoned Riders who are destroyed in battle cannot be summoned again except by use of 'Rider Apocalypse'. The Diendriver does not summon the actual Kamen Riders invoked; instead, it summons a "doll" with the associated appearance, powers, and abilities of the card inserted into it. Because a "mission" and a "personality" are programmed into the "doll" in accordance with Rider's will, the Kamen Rider summoned may not act in the way expected of them.**

_**Plunderer of Worlds**_**: A+ Anti-Unit: Rider can create a white wall of miasma that can act as either a barrier to prevent someone's passage through an area, or as a portal to forcibly send the target to a location of Rider's choosing. However, this Noble Phantasm has no direct offensive or defensive capabilities of its own.**

_**Rider Apocalypse:**_** EX Anti-Army: A special card that allows DiEnd to summon every "main" Kamen Rider simultaneously: 1st, 2nd, V3, X, Riderman, Amazon, Stronger, Skyrider, Super-1, Black, Black RX, Masked Rider, ZX, J, ZO, Shin, Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Blade, Faiz, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-O Sword, Den-O Rod, Den-O Axe, Den-O Gun, Kiva, Decade, Double, OOO, Fourze, Wizard, and Dragon Knight.**


	3. Archenemy

**Morphin' Fate**

**Face front, true believers!**

**Anywho, let's give Psyga 315 over at tvtropes a big hand for helping me out with this chapter by psuedo-beta-ing, and also a huge round of applause to IANCE - who has changed his ffnet username to Lord Mendasuit for the time being - for generally helping out with stuff.**

* * *

As they rose to their feet, Archer, Lancer, and Assassin shared a brief look, before standing with Saber.

Getting his head back into the game, Saber said, "The entire world's at stake here. We'll need to join forces in order to defeat this guy."

Assassin clapped him on the shoulder. "Dude, you didn't need to say anything. We're Power Rangers. He's the most obvious supervillain since Lothor. What were we gonna do, _not_ team up?"

Archer nodded, and Lancer gave Saber a thumbs-up.

"Thanks guys."

Then, without another word between them, the assembled Power Rangers turned to face Zedd and attacked.

Lancer and Assassin, relying on their superior speed, immediately charged in first, darting through Zedd's powerful blasts of electricity. Assassin drew his ninja sword, and tried to get in close to apply pressure on Zedd as Lancer attempted to strike the tyrant from behind with his Tyrannostaff.

Zedd ignored the ochre ninja darting around him for a moment and instead turned to grab Lancer by the helmet with one hand, before swinging the Red Dino Ranger around and tossing him like a trashed rag doll.

No sooner had Lancer left Zedd's grip, however, than a green energy burst slammed into the Emperor of Evil and knocked him back half a step.

Zedd waved his scepter at Saber with a growl, flinging several more electrical blasts at his archnemesis. **"DIE, TOMMY OLIVER!"**

Saber leapt back, however, and wiped out most of the blasts with a knife beam.

Once the Green Ranger landed on his feet, he used his momentum to lunge forward in a zig-zagging pattern, evading the other blasts aimed at him.

While Saber was closing in, Zedd finally got irritated enough with Assassin chipping away at his flesh to do something about it. With a split-second pause to predict Assassin's movement, Zedd swept his scepter along the ground and knocked the ninja on his back.

Zedd took a step forward and attempted to kill the Yellow Ninja Ranger by stomping through his helmet - and thereby his face - but Lancer caught the Emperor of Evil off guard with a flying tackle.

Zedd stumbled back for a few feet, but ultimately kept his footing and flung the Red Dino Ranger off of him and across the pier.

At that moment, he heard a calm voice from behind him. "Hey."

Snarling, Zedd whipped around just in time to see Archer standing before him. With a rocket launcher over one shoulder, and aimed directly at the center of Zedd's neck.

No matter what Zedd did, there was no way in hell that the Red Lightspeed Ranger could possibly miss.

Without saying another word or giving Zedd a chance to react, Archer pulled the trigger.

The rocket fired and, on impact with the Emperor of Evil's head, blossomed into a small fireball before blasting a gout of flame that completely enveloped Zedd's skinless form.

At the same time, Saber cut loose with another knife beam from the Dragon Dagger, striking Zedd directly in the center of his chest.

* * *

Kiritsugu had been unsettled from the moment Zedd arrived.

True, he'd seen (and killed) far more grotesque and nauseating monsters in his time, but Lord Zedd literally _radiated_ malevolence in a way that no creature of human creation ever could.

Even more worrisome was the deduction that, in all likelihood, Zedd was a Caster-class Servant. After all, every other Servant save Rider had been confirmed - or, given Avenger, there may not have _been_ a Rider, as far as Kiritsugu knew - leaving only that class.

Thing is, Casters were supposed to be physically unimpressive as far as Servants went, reliant on their magecraft and techniques.

And yet this 'Lord Zedd' had been effortlessly holding his own against _four_ other Servants - including all three of the Knight classes (!) - primarily using his own physical power.

_A Caster who seems a bigger threat with his fists than his magic, an Assassin in bright yellow spandex, a Saber without a proper sword... just what the hell kind of War is this?_

* * *

As the smoke and dust from Archer and Saber's attack settled, the assembled Rangers were able to see that Lord Zedd was still standing.

The Emperor of Evil was lightly bleeding from a few places now, but other than that he seemed totally unaffected.

Then, almost as an afterthought, his visor cracked... and bright red light spilled out of said visor like a sign of the apocalypse.

With an incoherent roar worthy of the Berserker class, Zedd ripped through Archer's rocket launcher with his palm to grab the Servant by the throat and slammed him into the ground so hard it collapsed into the sewers, similar to the end of Berserker's fight with Avenger.

However, with Zedd's rage-fueled power - and given how much abuse the pavement had been forced to endure over the past half-hour - this final attack was too much, and the ground imploded along the sewage system for several dozen meters.

Seemingly unperturbed by the floor disappearing from beneath him, Zedd lifted Archer by his neck with one hand with a hateful snarl.

**"I AM GOING TO RIP AND TEAR **_**EVERY LAST ONE**_** OF YOU POWER PUNKS APART IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"**

With this oath, Zedd took Archer's helmet in his other hand and slowly began applying force as cracks spiderwebbed across it.

Before the Emperor of Evil could finish crushing Archer's head like an eggshell, however, a blade slashed across his other arm, drawing an arc of blood, forcing the spellslinger to release the Red Lightspeed Ranger on reflex.

Then, no sooner had Archer had fallen to the crumbled stone beneath, than Assassin appeared holding Zedd's discarded scepter and smashed him in the face with it, forcing the skinless Servant to stumble backward.

Before the Servant Caster could regain his balance, the Green Ranger lunged at him, did a front-flip in mid-air, and kicked Zedd in the throat, pinning him to the wreckage in the sewer.

Looking through the haze of rage, Zedd observed the other three Rangers standing over him.

Assassin, twirling Zedd's own scepter around like a baton.

Lancer, who had unleashed a Noble Phantasm and become the more powerful Triassic Ranger, holding the Shield of Triumph and ready to impale Zedd with the shield's attached sword at a moment's notice.

And Saber, holding Zedd down with his boot over the Emperor of Evil's throat, about to plunge the Dragon Dagger into his exposed brain.

Assassin faced Archer and asked, "Dude, you okay?"

The Red Lightspeed Ranger massaged his throat as he replied, "I'll live, but I need to retreat for now."

The Green Ranger nodded at Archer as he entered spirit form and left, before turning to the Caster beneath his boot. "It's _over_, Zedd."

Just before he could follow through on that, however, a synthesized voice echoed through the area.

**"KAMEN RIDE: KUUGA!"**

The Rangers were momentarily distracted as they turned to find the new threat, and Zedd capitalised on it by blasting the three Rangers standing over him with a powerful electric energy burst, sending them flying back out of the ditch.

Zedd then summoned his scepter back to his hand and stared down the warrior in red armor that had appeared before him: Kamen Rider Kuuga, in his Mighty form.

Without further preamble, Kuuga leapt down into the sewers and attempted to kick Zedd in the face.

In response, the Emperor of Evil promptly caught him by the ankle, swung the Kamen Rider by his inertia, and slammed him into the rubble behind him.

**"WORTHLESS IMBECILE! Did you **_**honestly**_** think the same kind of attack would work on me **_**twice**_**?!"**

His disembodied voice seeming to come from everywhere at once, the Servant Rider replied, "Not really, but it was a nice thought. Guess I shouldn't waste time with you, huh?"

**"FORM RIDE: KUUGA ULTIMATE!"**

With this announcement, Kuuga's armor turned black, and he threw a punch at Zedd's shoulder.

And on impact, gouts of blood burst from Zedd's body.

Kuuga followed through, relentless, pounding the Emperor of Evil with a few more strikes, each forcing gallons of blood to erupt from the evil Servant.

The attacks themselves didn't affect Zedd too severely, and against any other opponent of similar strength Zedd would have been putting up a much better fight. However, Kuuga's Ultimate Form had a 'curse' on him - whenever he struck another living being, they would bleed as if he'd burst a major artery. As a result, Zedd was more affected by the rapid blood loss than Kuuga's actual attacks.

Even so, the Emperor of Evil would not be defeated so easily. Zedd blocked a punch with his scepter - causing a massive blood spray to erupt from his shoulders and elbows - and with a tremendous show of power, forced Kuuga back several feet before blasting him with electricity.

Smoke rising from his form, Kuuga quickly rose and swung another punch at Zedd's face, only for the Emperor of Evil to catch the Kamen Rider's fist in his hand. Zedd then shoved his scepter through Kuuga's stomach, and then swung Kuuga around a few times before flinging him through the air.

While the summoned Rider was nearing the arc of his flight, Zedd called a powerful storm by raising a hand to the sky, before bringing his hand down.

On that signal, Kuuga was fried by several dozen lightning bolts striking him one after the other. Before he could be totally destroyed, Kuuga disappeared into a flurry of silhouettes.

Appearing on a distant building, Rider spoke up, his voice carrying across the entire area. "I'm impressed, Caster, I really am. Didn't think you'd be able to defeat Ultimate Kuuga at all. Still, you'd best retire for a while if you don't want those injuries to do you in."

* * *

As much as Zedd completely and utterly _loathed_ to admit the barest possibility that someone other than himself could be right about something, the fact _was _that he would need some time to recover from his blood loss.

And, even as powerful as he was, Zedd knew that with the injuries Ultimate Kuuga had inflicted upon him, there was a very real chance of those thrice-damned Power Rangers actually _defeating_ him. One-on-one, the Emperor of Evil could still wipe the floor with any of them even in his current state. Hell, he would normally overpower all _three _of the not-almost-dead-ones before him, even with his injuries.

However, Lancer's Noble Phantasm had given him a much more powerful form, and if he could sustain it long enough, in coordination with Saber and Assassin... Not to mention if Archer somehow recovered enough - and quickly enough - to rejoin the fight...

Ultimately, Zedd decided that it would be best not to play the odds right now, given his injuries. Besides, they had the devil's own luck. They'd probably pull some new weapon or other piece of equipment out of their ass that Zedd had no possible way of expecting.

Damned Rangers were doing bullshit like that _all the time_, as he recalled.

Actually, in hindsight, that kind of thing was _exactly_ what Noble Phantasms were for. Zedd was the _worst_ possible match-up for Saber - not only did he have complete knowledge of the Green Ranger powers, in life he had _destroyed_ them.

Of course, even if it _would_ be a poor decision to continue fighting the assembled Rangers head-on, Zedd had more than enough sorcerous power for a few parting gifts to keep the Rangers occupied long enough to sequester himself beyond their reach.

Besides, if Rider hadn't shown up the Rangers all would've been toast anyway, so Zedd was more than able to finish them off at his leisure.

**"Don't you dare think this is over, **_**Rangers**_**,"** he spat. **"When next we meet, I will stand over your completely broken **_**corpses**_**! Before this War draws to its close, I will strip every last shred of hope from your souls, and you will die **_**for nothing**_**!"**

Before taking his leave, Zedd punched the sewer pipe beneath him and infused the concrete rubble with his mana, transforming the pieces into a legion of Putty Patrollers.

**"**_**PUTTIES! **_**SCATTER,****AND DESTROY EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!"**

Then, as the low-level mooks began running off, the Emperor of Evil struck five of the nearby warehouses, forcefully transforming them into appropriately huge machines.

**"DARK SHOGUNZORDS! BURN THIS CITY AND **_**EVERYTHING IN IT **_**TO ASHES!"**

Now that the Rangers were sure to be kept busy for a while, it was time for Zedd to return to his lair and plot the Rangers' ultimate destruction. Time was on his side, after all.

* * *

As Zedd created his army of Putties and sent giant monsters on a rampage, Saber clenched his fist in anger.

Turning to his former science student, he asked, "Let me guess, you've got the Thundersaurus Megazord, right?"

Lancer's had demorphed back into his civilian state, and he was leaning against the remains of a building in order to catch his breath. "Yeah, but I don't have enough energy right now to even invoke it."

Archer and Assassin had both disappeared - Archer, having retreated in order to recover, and Assassin had probably been called back by his Master.

Saber grimaced beneath his helmet, but nodded. "All right then, Conner. You see what you can do about the Putties, while I go deal with the Zedd's Shogunzord knockoffs."

The Green Ranger turned to leave, but then stopped as he recalled that Lancer had typically not payed much attention in history class. "Zedd's Putties are stronger than Rita's were, but the giant 'Z' emblem on their chest is pretty much a one-hit kill, so aim for that and exploit your speed for everything it's worth. Here's hoping we both get out of this in one piece."

Lancer took a deep breath to steady himself from the exhaustion of his earlier battles, before his expression became a proud smirk. "Race you to the Grail, Dr. O!"

With that, Lancer proceeded to run at the horde of Putties and set about tearing them apart, as Irisviel got into a battle stance as well.

Shaking his head at his former student's antics, the Green Ranger leapt from the street to the rooftop corner of a tall building in a single bound.

As Saber got into a stance and brought the Dragon Dagger to the mouthpiece on his helmet, he mentally declared, _Try to stop me and you'll have a fight on your hands, Kerry._

_'You're trying to protect lives, right? Why would I stop you?'_

At that time, a fragmentation grenade exploded from within the midst of the Putties, causing several of them to disintegrate as their Z emblems were pierced with shrapnel. None of the pieces hit Lancer, to Kiritsugu's misfortune.

_'It is true that I'd normally hesitate to authorize using your Noble Phantasm under such circumstances, but it seems that every Servant in the War already knows each other on sight, making such secrecy rather pointless. We're going to have words about this later.'_

Ignoring Kiritsugu's irritation, Saber resumed what he was doing and brought the Dragon Dagger to the mouth on his helmet, and played a series of six notes, before repeating the string twice more.

Upon doing this, the sea _boiled_, and from the depths emerged a giant machine.

As displaced water fell from the titan, it unleashed a mighty roar that sent a chill down Kiritsugu and Irisviel's spines.

Dragonzord.

* * *

**Oh, hey, another cliffhanger. Originally, this had a bit more stuff in it, but I found that just cutting it out to save a few paragraphs was easier than keeping it and having to add another ten pages or so. Also, I promise this is the last cliffhanger for a while. The next few chapters shouldn't need one.**

**Gonna be honest here, I'd like some reviews. Namely because this is the first fic for which I've **_**really**_** tried my hand at fight scenes, and I'd like to know how I'm doing. So please, if you've got any constructive criticism for the fights in this chapter - or from last chapter, for that matter, or just any constructive criticism at all - it'd be great.**

**Next time, on **_**Morphin' Fate**_**! Saber's Dragonzord vs the WM Shogunzord! Lancer, Irisviel, and Kiritsugu vs the Putty Patrollers! Rider's insidious plot!**

**Servant Assassin:  
Real Name: Dustin Brooks (Power Rangers Ninja Storm)  
Yellow Ranger  
Theme tune: Power Rangers Ninja Storm opening theme  
Alignment: Neutral Good  
Strength: C  
Endurance: C  
Agility: A+  
Mana: C  
Luck: B**

**SKILLS**

**Bravery: B: The ability to shrug off mental interference from external sources.**

**Presence Concealment: D (C+): This rank is normally at D. However, it increases to C+ while Morphed as the Yellow Ninja Ranger. The irony of being stealthier in bright yellow spandex is noted.**

**Earth Manipulation: B: Allows Assassin to move through solid earth as if it's air, and can split into two fighters for a brief period of time.**

**Ninja Streak: A+: Allows Assassin to move at speeds beyond the ability of his opponent(s) to observe, regardless of how advanced/accurate/powerful their senses are; instead, they are only able to interpret Assassin's movements as a yellow blur, and thus cannot make an accurate assessment of his movements. Cannot be maintained for more than a two-second period of time, but can be used an infinite number of times per battle as long as there is sufficient mana. Assassin's own reaction time and cognitive abilities are also enhanced in order to control the sudden increase to his Agility.**

**NOBLE PHANTASMS**

_**Ninjastorm Megazord:**_** A++ Anti-Fortress: By invoking the powers of Air, Earth, and Water, Assassin can summon the Ninjastorm Megazord. As expected of a ninja, this Megazord has access to several internal weapons that it can summon and equip. In addition, it can temporarily transform into Lightning Mode for improved speed and agility, at the cost of losing armor and attack power.**

_**Power of Earth:**_** A+ Anti-Unit: This one-use Noble Phantasm allows Assassin to unleash a concentrated stream of Earth Ninja energy at a single opponent, and destroy them. However, using this NP would also sacrifice Assassin's ability to Morph, greatly restricting his powers and ability to fight.  
**


	4. Slices of Life

**Morphin' Fate**

**Face front, true believers! It's time for another instalment of Morphin' Fate! Beta'd and approved by Psyga 315 over at TvTropes! Incidentally, I've been informed that this fic has an article on said website, so for further, more in-depth analysis of the fic, you can head on over there after the show. Before that, however, IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!**

* * *

_'It is true that I'd normally hesitate to authorize using your Noble Phantasm under such circumstances, but it seems that every Servant in the War already knows each other on sight, making such secrecy rather pointless. We're going to have words about this later.'_

Ignoring Kiritsugu's irritation, Saber resumed what he was doing and brought the Dragon Dagger to the mouth on his helmet, and played a series of six notes, before repeating the string twice more.

Upon doing this, the sea _boiled_, and from the depths emerged a giant machine.

As displaced water fell from the titan, it unleashed a mighty roar that sent a chill down Kiritsugu and Irisviel's spines.

Dragonzord.

Upon the dragon-mech's arrival, the Dark Shogunzords began heading in its direction, intent on stopping the Zord before it could truly get started.

A futile effort, that had started far, far too late.

Teleporting into the Dragonzord's cockpit in order to assume direct control of the giant machine, Saber seemed to observe the Dark Shogunzords for a moment before he darkly muttered, "You should've run away."

* * *

As the Dragonzord began lumbering forward, each step creating a fierce tidal surge, Irisviel worked very hard _not_ to get distracted by how awestruck it left her. With some degree of effort, she managed to keep herself focused on fighting Caster's Putties.

Making liberal use of her extraordinarily sharp wire and the ability to manipulate it with magecraft, the Einzbern homunculus had already cut apart a number of the Putties. Even so, their bodies were far more durable than she would've expected, and she was beginning to run out of steam.

Fortunately, she had Kiritsugu providing sniper support, and Lancer was fighting alongside her anyway. Irisviel couldn't really be sure of the reasons behind that, but since Lancer and Saber apparently knew each other and had been comrades in life, she assumed that Lancer's rather easily-gained cooperation was related.

And even though Lancer wasn't 'morphed' or whatever the term was, she had to admit he was still displaying speed worthy of an Epic Hero - every time he moved, seemingly, every Putty in his path would explode.

Before too long, only one Putty remained, which then exploded as Lancer nailed its chest emblem with a flying drop kick. Immediately after which, the Servant of Spear dodged three feet to his left as Kiritsugu tried to put a bullet through his brain.

The young man turned to face where the Magus Killer had shot from and demanded, "Dude, what's your problem?! I just helped save your partner's butt over here!"

The only answer was another gunshot, which Lancer was again able to evade with minimal apparent effort thanks to his abilities.

Lancer scowled in Kiritsugu's general direction before returning to spirit form as he muttered, "my Master's not a load of fun either, but he's not _half_ the jerk this guy is..."

* * *

Three of the Dark Shogunzords attempted to attack the Dragonzord at once, from different directions - one each from the left and right, and another came at it head-on.

Had Saber been controlling it from outside, using his flute, this strategy _may_ have meant something.

As it was, they didn't stand a chance. The Dragonzord promptly caught the left attacker with its drill tail and flung it into the sea, knocked away the one on the right with a backhand from its short and stubby arm, and then met the evil Zord in front with a headbutt, stopping it in its tracks.

Spinning around, the Dragonzord then pointed its arms at a Zord that had been keeping its distance. Five lights quickly flashed on its chest, before the Dragonzord shot out its claws as rockets.

As its torso was hit by several explosions, the target stumbled backward.

"You might have the shape of the Shogunzords," Saber roared, "BUT YOU'RE JUST TWO-BIT KNOCKOFFS!"

To punctuate that declaration, the Dragonzord bellowed out a challenge, as if demanding that the Dark Shogunzords start fighting for real.

In answer, the five Dark Shogunzords leapt into the air, before they quickly transformed and combined midair into a machine even more massive than the Dragonzord.

Dark Mega Shogunzord.

A moment later, the humongous mecha made its landing, completely crushing the marina beneath its weight and sending a huge wave out to sea.

Stepping forward into the sea, the DMS brought back its fist to gather power, before punching the Dragonzord in its chest with enough force to send it flying back several hundred feet as a shower of sparks burst from the impact.

From over half a mile away, Irisviel cheered, "You can do it, Saber! Kick that other... thingie's... butt!"

As if in response, the Dragonzord quickly climbed back to its feet, seawater once again cascading off of the formerly submerged areas.

Meanwhile, still on his rooftop, Kiritsugu observed the battle between the Zord and Megazord.

_Saber's Dragonzord had an overwhelming advantage over Caster's individual Zords, but when they combined into that... Megazord... it laid out the Dragonzord with one punch. In addition to its superior size and weight presumably making it harder to damage, it's clear that the enemy has more physical power than the Dragonzord does._

* * *

What Kiritsugu didn't know - or rather, what he _couldn't_ have known - is that Saber had been a pilot of several combined Megazords - indeed, he had been a pilot of the _true_ Mega Shogunzord itself for a brief time.

His teammate had even stolen it from Lord Zedd in the first place.

This meant, that, among other things, Saber knew the Mega Shogunzord's weakness.

Specifically, he knew the location of its power source, and which joints to target in order to disable the limbs.

"You ready, Dragonzord?" he asked.

The quasi-intelligent machine growled in affirmation, before it charged the Dark Mega Shogunzord at full speed.

Which, admittedly, did not look all that fast compared to how big it was, but in reality was still really really fast.

The DMS took another swing at the Dragonzord, but Saber's mech just ducked beneath the punch before jamming its claws into the shoulder joint and detonating the rockets in them.

Sparks fell from the targeted area like an American Fourth of July celebration as the arm promptly fell limp. Seizing the opportunity, the Dragonzord completely ripped the arm out and then used it as a bludgeon, repeatedly whacking the Dark Mega Shogunzord in the head with its own hand.

"I know that being evil sucks," Saber began, before yelling "BUT YOU SHOULDN'T KEEP BEATING YOURSELF UP OVER IT!"

Then, with all its strength, the Dragonzord clobbered the Dark Mega Shogunzord so hard it fell on its back, the displaced water becoming a tidal wave that completely destroyed whatever was left of the docks that wasn't made of steel or concrete.

Before the larger machine could attempt a counterattack, the Dragonzord climbed up and began to ruthlessly rip and tear into the chest area, flinging sparks everywhere.

Just as the power core was exposed, the Dark Mega Shogunzord's eyes lit up as it tried to dislodge its assailant using its remaining arm.

Saber saw it coming from a mile away, however, and focused all the Dragonzord's power into its tail drill.

The drill stopped the hand in its tracks and, without much visible effort, drilled straight through the arm until it was glorified scrap metal.

Saber yelled, "All right, time to _end_ this!"

With that, the Dragonzord shoved its claws into the Dark Mega Shogunzord's chest, tore out the power core with both hands, and then ripped it in half, roaring in victory all the while.

* * *

Meanwhile, Risei was watching the late-night news, when suddenly the station cut to a live feed offshore, and treated him to a battle between two giant robots.

Assassin, who had just been watching TV for its own sake, regardless of what was on, said, "Oh hey, that's the original Dragonzord, Saber's NP. Looks like he's throwing down with the Mega Shogunzord, but it looks all evil and stuff. Wonder what's up with that?"

Risei, completely and utterly horrified, gaped at the television. "God in Heaven, they aren't even _trying_ to preserve the secret, are they?"

Assassin confusedly asked, "Why would you wanna hide the good guys beating up the bad guys?"

Risei turned to him and explained, "It's not about that! If word of magecraft gets out, do you have _any_ idea of what the ramifications could be?"

Assassin stared blankly at the aged priest for a few seconds. At least, he seemed to be. Risei couldn't really be sure of his expression because of the helmet, but a blank stare was the impression he got from the yellow ninja's posture.

Then, as if speaking to a very young child, Assassin said, "Dude. They're giant robots, not magic. We're cool. So don't, like, freak out or anything."

Quickly becoming frustrated with his son's Servant, Risei loudly said, "That is my point _exactly_! GIANT ROBOTS came out of nowhere and are tearing each other apart!"

The Yellow Ranger tilted his head to the side a little bit and asked, "What's so weird about that? Happens, like, at least once a week at home."

Risei screamed in frustration. The worst part of it was that he couldn't tell if Assassin was seriously _that_ clueless, or just messing with him.

At that time, Kirei came up from the cellar, having been cleaning around the wine stores. "Is there a problem, Father?"

Pointing an accusing finger at Assassin, Risei roared, "THAT SERVANT IS AN _IDIOT_!"

Assassin put his hands on the older priest's shoulders and said, "Dude, _chill_. It's just a giant robot fight. There's nothing to get so excited about. Tomorrow, yeah, it'll be all over the news, but nobody's going to bat an eye at it."

Risei, practically frothing at the mouth, demanded, "AND HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH SUCH CONFIDENCE?!"

Assassin's posture indicated a great big grin as he gave a thumbs-up and explained his careful, well thought-out reasoning, his voice bearing all the sincerity and faith in the universe.

"It's 'cause we've got the power of positive thinking!"

Kirei opened his mouth, found he couldn't even speak in the face of something that ridiculous, and sighed in exasperation, before resolving to try and prevent his berserk father from strangling Assassin.

* * *

The next morning, Waver Velvet came downstairs in the abandoned house they'd taken for a base, and found Rider at the table sipping tea.

"So, did you have any luck last night?"

Rider seemed rather pleased with himself. "All the Servants are still in play, but I've gained valuable information on them all, and I have spies across the city gathering further intelligence as we speak. Barring any unforseen abilities that completely change the situation, I'm confident that this world's finest treasure will be mine in ten days or less."

Waver was amazed by Rider's self-assuredness, before he registered what the Servant had just said. "Wait, you're telling me you've already found the other Masters?"

Rider nodded. "A few of them. That said, I don't plan on starting a fight unless the odds are stacked strongly in my favor. No sense picking fights I can't be sure of winning, after all."

* * *

Kirei was heading out of the Church for a while to go out for some groceries - partly because a trip had to be made, and partly to see if he could get any recon on the competition while he was out.

Preparing to cross the street at the light, the young priest observed some children dancing around a bishounen homeless man, who was apparently sleeping beneath a public bench.

The children taunted, "Hobo-san, hobo-san!"

Though he didn't really care, Kirei's duty as a man of the cloth - even though his current affiliation was with the Magus Association and not the Church - was obvious. With a frown... or rather, his typical expression... he went to scold the children for their rudeness. As soon as the runts saw Kirei, however, they bolted on the spot.

As 'hobo-san' quit feigning sleep, the priest said, "My apologies for the younger generation."

Then, expression becoming one of feigned concern, he asked, "Do you need direction to a shelter of some kind?"

'Hobo-san' cracked his stiff neck. "No thank you. As long as I've got a handful of change and clean pants for tomorrow, I'm good."

Kirei wasn't entirely convinced, but nodded, and went on his way.

There was something else, unrelated to the homeless vagrant, that was bothering the priest. But no matter what, he couldn't seem to figure out what precisely it was.

Not long after, Kirei was passing by a group of people at a riverside café. One young lady with brown hair excitedly asked, "So, what did you guys think about that news report last night? You know, the one with the giant robots fighting out by the harbor? Pretty awesome, right?"

A serious-looking man with a permanent scowl replied, "It's just some kind of publicity stunt, Fujimura. You shouldn't get so excited over trivial things."

The newly-named Fujimura adamantly replied, "So _what _if they're not real! I recorded it on my VCR so I could watch it again and again, because even if it's fake, it's still cool!"

Kirei felt despair at that moment, because he suddenly realized what had been bothering him.

Indeed, the entire city of Fuyuki had seen the news coverage of the Zord fight in the harbor, and the populace were calmly chatting about it as if giant mecha battles were a normal part of the daily routine.

"God in Heaven, _Assassin was right_."

* * *

It had taken two hours for Berserker to shake Avenger's pursuit the night before. Normally it shouldn't have been such a problem, given her ability to teleport, but Avenger apparently had some type of skill or ability that allowed him to track an enemy even after they disengaged from battle. As a result, she'd had to unceremoniously toss her Master in a dumpster somewhere after about forty minutes, and then lead Avenger on a chase across half the damn city before she finally managed to escape him.

Kariya had dug himself out of the trash heap and wasn't particularly pleased, but since they escaped Avenger's wrath, he didn't complain about it.

Between having been hauled around the Fuyuki business district like a sack of potatoes and having had to fuel Berserker's Mad Enhancement during the previous night's battle, Kariya was totally exhausted and had fallen asleep, the Mad Servant keeping watch.

When he woke up, he found an ice cream truck parked in their alleyway, the inside of the cab covered with splatters of dried blood, and Berserker lounging on the roof. In the middle of eating some chocolate ice cream, she observed that Kariya had awoken, and she looked imperiously at him. "Morning, Master. I see that a night of undisturbed beauty sleep hasn't done you any good."

Ignoring the barb at his deformity, Kariya sighed and asked, "I have a feeling that I already know the answer to this, but... why do you have an ice cream truck?"

Nonchalant as could be, Berserker replied, "You were asleep and I found myself with a sugar craving. This vendor was passing by, so I took it."

Kariya massaged his forehead in exasperation. "I get that you're selfish and probably wouldn't have paid the man even if you had the money, and also that you can't adopt a form better suited for blending in with civilians, but why did you have to kill the driver and take the _entire_ truck?"

Berserker shrugged. "I killed the driver because he knew too much."

She paused for a second, before then saying "Actually, I killed him because he tried to club me with a handgun when I demanded that he give me the goods. I would've had to kill him anyway for having seen me, though, so there's not really a difference. As for taking the whole thing, what if I wanted more later? Would you have had me rob _another_ ice cream truck, when we still have this perfectly good one right here?"

Kariya scowled at Berserker in a way that reminded her of her father, causing the insectoid woman to avert her eyes. Berserker wasn't sure of why she kept projecting her regrets with about her relationship with her father onto Kariya. Maybe it was because, despite his mostly noble personality, she kept sensing a great malice from within him, that - combined with his stern attitude - simply reminded her of Scorpius too much.

Or, possibly, the Grail had screwed with her head and kept highlighting what few similarities there were between her Master and her father, so that she would be more obedient and controllable.

Regardless of the reason, Berserker found that she couldn't take his scowl anymore, and pouted. "I'm sorry."

"No," Kariya sternly replied, "you're _not _sorry for your actions. You're sorry that I'm _disappointed _with you."

Plopping back down onto a garbage bag, he muttered, "Still, nothing that can be done about it now."

Much as it galled him, the fact of the matter was that Kariya didn't really have that much in the way of money. And while he would never, in a million years, approve of Berserker's actions, he still needed food if he wanted the slightest hope of rescuing Sakura. And while ice cream was far from what he really needed, it was better than scavenging for garbage.

As Kariya ordered Berserker to toss him a bucket of vanilla, the sheer absurdity of the situation hit him, and the deformed Master started laughing.

Cautiously pleased with his newfound humor, Berserker raised an eyebrow at her Master.

"Good grief... I'm sitting in a back alley, eating stolen ice cream with an insect-alien as my Berserker-class Servant. That's... that's the kind of nonsense you'd expect from a children's television series."

* * *

"Everything that could've ruined my plans last night, did. We were the only Masters to appear, and we weren't able to remove any of the competition. Still... we have some idea of most of the other Servants' capabilities..."

Saber rolled his eyes at Kiritsugu as he said, "I've actually _met_ most of those guys in life, or otherwise have a general idea of what their capabilities are going to be, now that they've been summoned as Servants. If you feel like working as a team instead of acting like a lone wolf, we _might_ have a chance at saving the world."

Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes at the long-haired teenager. Really, he should've left dealing with the Servant entirely up to Iri, since there was no way that the two men could ever agree on a course of action - their ideals were just too different. As it was, Saber insisted on being equal partners in 'the team' - _like the protagonist of some children's television series,_ Kiritsugu scoffed - and Irisviel had taken it to heart. Still, Saber's words just now stirred something in the Magus Killer.

"What do you mean, 'save the world', Saber?"

Was it possible that Saber had already dreamed some of Kiritsugu's past, and that their goals _actually_ somehow coincided, even if their chosen methods couldn't be further apart? If Saber really had such a goal, then the Servant's adherence to his own rules only served to prove how foolishly naïve he was.

Saber grabbed a few loose sheets of paper, and as things occurred to him, he wrote them down.

"Obviously, the biggest threat right now is Lord Zedd, who more than likely was summoned as a Caster. As you saw, he's powerful enough to face four Rangers head-on - or, to you, four Servants, including all three Knight Classes - as well as fight Rider's construct to the bloody death, and he was still in good enough shape to walk away. On top of that, we know he can create Putty Patrollers - which I would've expected - and he was also able to recreate the Shogunzords, which took me by surprise."

"You know Caster well, I take it." It wasn't a question.

Saber replied, "For two years, we were archenemies. It really bites that our powers as Servants are determined by our legends as Epic Heroes. Especially since Zedd was the one who destroyed my Green Ranger powers, putting me out of action for a few months. I later returned to the fight with new powers as the White Ranger, and actually fought Zedd in person a year later. To my knowledge, that was the only time Zedd ever fought one of his enemies personally, instead of creating a monster to do it for him."

Kiritsugu nodded. He'd taken to consistently thinking of Saber as some kind of children's television superhero, and the behaviour Saber described fit with what one would expect from the villain of such a program.

At that time, Irisviel came into the room and brightly asked, "And then you took him down, right?"

Saber hung his head, looking at the floor. "No, Iri. I was at the height of my power at that time, and he completely _annihilated_ me."

Kiritsugu and Irisviel were both alarmed at that revelation. Then he continued, "So basically, Zedd's legend gives him a natural advantage against me, twice over. And if you think that's bad enough, well, it isn't. It gets _worse_. Zedd's probably got Serpentera as a Noble Phantasm. If he gets a chance to power it up, Earth is doomed. And as far as I know, there's not one thing we can do to stop it."

Irisviel was horrified, and even Kiritsugu was stunned by Saber's claim, though he didn't show it. Iri asked, "Even your Dragonzord can't stop it?"

If they weren't discussing the fate of the entire Earth and every living thing on it, Saber might have laughed at how ridiculous that idea was.

"Serpentera _dwarfs_ normal Megazords. I've seen it blast an entire planet to atoms in a matter of seconds. While the Zord was still _on_ that planet, and it then pursued us back to Earth without a scratch on it. Unless you've got a weapon so powerful that it could potentially atomize Earth, then we have _nothing _that can damage Serpentera's exterior armor."

Something occurred to the Magus Killer, and he asked, "If Serpentera is so powerful, then why hasn't Caster used it already, or in the past in order to kill you?"

With a sigh, Saber explained, "The only point in our favor here is Serpentera's insane power usage. Usually, by the time it arrived on Earth, we were able to somehow drain its energy or otherwise stall for time until Zedd had to retreat, with his only alternative to be stranded on Earth. I'm _hoping_ that invoking Serpentera now would require just as much mana, so that he won't be able to summon it. Or at the very least, it'll take him a lot of time."

Kiritsugu nodded gravely. While his original priorities had been to eliminate a few of the other Masters - primarily Kayneth Arcihbald El-Molloi and Kirei Kotomine, since he considered them the greatest threats - this new information changed things, as Caster was obviously the more pressing concern now.

Irisviel asked, "Saber, if Zedd is so powerful, then how do you propose we put a stop to him?"

Saber remained silent for a few seconds, thinking. "If he can manage to invoke Serpentera, we've lost. Our mutual legend gives him a lot of advantages over me, and he knows my strengths and weaknesses just as well as I know his - moreso because Servant system makes it so that he practically _is_ my weakness. We have to team up with _at least_ the other Ranger Servants if we want to beat him. Best case scenario, we manage to get _all_ the Servants to join forces in order to take him out as soon as possible."

Looking up to face Kiritsugu, he said, "Master, we need to get a move on _now_, and pray that Zedd's not already in the mood to start drawing power for Serpentera."

Kiritsugu frowned in contemplation. On the one hand, it seemed _ridiculous_ that the planet would allow the calling of a Servant who could destroy the entire world. On the other hand, the idea of the Grail summoning Epic Heroes from a parallel universe that fought with giant robots - as well as another Epic Hero whose entire strategy was to summon new Epic Heroes out of nothing - seemed equally improbable.

"I doubt the planet would allow something as powerful as Serpentera to exist... but regardless, Caster should definitely be one of our primary concerns at this time."

Unbeknownst to the pair, Kamen Rider Wing Knight was eavesdropping on their conversation from the reflective silverware that Irisviel had set on the dining table, and telepathically relaying everything he observed to Servant Rider, aka Kamen Rider Diend.

* * *

Lancer had, rather predictably, gotten bored just sitting around the hotel room doing nothing. Normally, he'd have gone out to a soccer field to blow off some steam, but it wasn't really an option, since he was recovering from his battles against Rider's female goons, and then the team-up against Lord Zedd.

So he instead, he was watching a re-broadcast of the previous year's World Cup on TV.

Just as Spain scored a goal against the UK, a slightly morose Kayneth came into the room. "Lancer, have you seen Sola-Ui anywhere?"

Not taking his eyes off the tube, Lancer nodded. "Been in the bathroom for a while now. Probably taking a shower, bro."

Kayneth twitched a little at being called 'bro', before taking a seat on the cushiest chair in the room with a depressed sigh.

Lancer smirked a little. "What's the matter, trouble in paradise?"

"I just... I love my fiancée, and can't understand why she won't seem to give me a chance."

Lancer turned to face his Master, having not expected the man to suddenly be so... out of his usual character.

Confused, Lancer asked, "Well, if she agreed to marry you, doesn't that mean she likes you?"

Kayneth shook his head. "It was arranged by our families, actually. I care for that woman more than anything in the world, but no matter what I do, I only feel as though I'm... unworthy of her."

Lancer hadn't really had that much in the way of lady trouble in his lifetime, so of all Epic Heroes in the Throne, he wasn't particularly qualified to advise his Master on the subject.

Regretfully tuning out the TV as the UK began an epic counterattack on Spain, Lancer mused, "Well, you said before that you wanted the Grail for her, right?"

Kayneth nodded with fervor. "What greater way could I have to prove my dedication, than to risk my life for the Holy Grail in her honor?"

Lancer scratched his head. "I'm not Trent, so I can't be sure, but maybe she's ticked because you're having _her_ provide me with mana. Again, I'm not Trent - so don't take my word as fact here - but... I dunno, maybe Sola thinks you're just using her for a battery to keep me powered up?"

Kayneth furrowed his brow in thought. Indeed, that was a possibility that hadn't occurred to him. When he'd devised the revolutionary method of Servant control, with the Master bearing Command Spells and using another person to provide the necessary mana, Kayneth had envisioned it as a symbol of Kayneth and Sola-Ui working together, a shared effort as husband and wife to win the War with honor.

But if Sola did indeed hate her fiancée, as Kayneth was increasingly beginning to believe, then - in retrospect - why _would _she think of it in the same way that he did?

Kayneth smiled at the irony. "To think of it - _me_, a magus prodigy, being educated by a _schoolboy_..."

Lancer twitched a little at being called a schoolboy - probably his Master's revenge for the Servant's rather cavalier and familiar attitude - before shrugging it off. "All I can say for sure is, talk to her, maybe try and do more... normal stuff. You know, to make her feel like she's special, or whatever. If Trent's any indication, girls eat that 'sensitive guy' kind of stuff right -"

Kayneth realized what was on TV and triumphantly seethed, "Yeeees! _Annihilate_ those damned Spaniards!"

One of the British forwards had just made a seemingly-impossible kick into reality, tying up the score.

Lancer asked, "Grudge against Spain, huh?"

Eyes blazing with a passion Lancer hadn't seen before, Kayneth declared, "Oh yes, Spain has _humiliated_ us for the last three years running. You have no idea how good it feels to see those smug bastards get their asses handed to them like this."

And then Master and Servant were pretty much consumed by the game, united in the love of soccer.

Unbeknownst to the boys, however, Sola-Ui had finished her shower some time ago. She had been about to return to her room and get dressed, when she heard them talking, and had instead chosen to remain behind the bathroom door and eavesdrop on them.

To be honest, Sola held them both in some amount of disdain, though she had to admit that perhaps... just possibly... she hadn't given either of them enough credit.

When the topic turned to soccer, however, Sola just shook her head in exasperation, before finally drying herself off with a towel and starting to dress. "Boys will be boys," she muttered, completely oblivious to the voyeur hiding in the mirror, Kamen Rider Odin.

* * *

Rider examined a card that appeared in his hand, weighing his options as the information from Odin, Wing Knight, and civilian-form OOO were transmitted directly into his mind. Further, Rider was pretty sure that there was a Master-Servant duo or two hiding out in the sewers, so he also had Amazon and Shin hunting there, as well as TheBee patrolling the Tokiomi estate in a constant state of Clock Up. He hadn't been able to track down Berserker's Master yet, but it was surely just a matter of time.

The information Wing Knight had transmitted about Caster - or Lord Zedd, rather - concerned Rider. Even if he _had_ known a certain Destroyer of Worlds, surely the Grail would weaken such a weapon, preventing it from being used at its full potential.

Still, Rider had to consider Waver's desire to see Kayneth, Master of Lancer, humiliated.

As Diend continued to stare at the card he'd drawn on a whim, a plot began to form.

Rider lacked the means to see it through himself, but if he could make use of another Servant's powers for a short while, then the first phase would fall into place, and everything else would fall into place one step after another.

Seeing the Servant deep in thought, Waver asked, "What are you planning?"

Rider didn't say anything at first, although his calculating expression soon morphed into a grin. Rising out of his chair, Rider headed for the door, grabbing Waver by the collar of his shirt on the way.

"You'll find out soon enough, Master. Now come on. It's time that we trade in one of my pawns and upgrade to a queen."

* * *

Lord Zedd sat upon his throne in the cavern in the sewers, impatiently waiting for his injuries to heal. Far too often, in the past, had he lost to the Power Rangers by being careless and/or delegating duties to his incompetent minions. However, the situation had changed. Now, Zedd no longer had time for mistakes. Much as he longed to see the Rangers' demise immediately, as much as it irked him, Zedd knew he had to wait.

There was a time for subtlety, and that time was now.

Zedd was many things. Evil. Sadistic. Petty. Proud, to the point of arrogance. But he was neither stupid, nor insane.

A sinister plan had come to mind, one that could be carried out even as Zedd recuperated in solitude. And though the waiting would be hell, thinking of the result once it went through made it all worthwhile. The _looks_ on the Rangers' faces when they realized the scope of his plot...

Still, the endgame wouldn't happen on its own, and there were several objectives still in need of completion. With that in mind...

**"RYUUNOSUKE!"**

The young man came from a cavern to the left, arms covered with blood as far up as his elbows. "Yeah, boss, what's up?"

Using magic to draw a glyph in the air, Zedd commanded, **"Until I have further recovered from my battle with those accursed power punks, you will have to lay low for a while. However...!"**

As the Servant Caster began to lay out his plan, Ryuunosuke promptly fell on his ass. Awestruck by his friend and boss's diabolical mind, Ryuunosuke could only mutter, "So... so cool..."

At that time, a sarcastic voice cut in. "Yeah, cool as all hell."

Zedd immediately rose, readying his scepter to attack. Before he could challenge the new arrival, however, the trespasser held up a hand. "Just a moment, I'm not here to cause trouble. You see, I've got a score to settle with Servant Rider, and I'm sure you're in line to get a piece of him too. Thing is, he's got other Riders he can summon, that are as powerful or stronger than the one that put you in your current sorry state."

If Zedd had eyebrows, he would've raised one. Able to sense that he could use this stranger to his advantage, he maintained a sense of relative calm. **"GET TO THE POINT ALREADY!"**

Smirking, the newcomer declared, "You're a Caster, right? For the small cost of whipping me up a potion, I'll lend my power to you as a weapon for use in the War."

Suddenly finding himself _massively_ pissed off, Zedd slammed his scepter into the ground and sent streams of electricity throughout the room, demanding, **"AND JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TO PITY THE EMPEROR OF EVIL?!"**

The man pulled a strange buckle out from his jacket, before slapping it on his waist as it transformed into a belt and then slotting a card into it.

**KAMEN RIDE:**

Slamming home the handles on his belt to activate the transformation sequence, the upstart declared, "Just a passing-through Kamen Rider. Remember that! Henshin!"

**DECADE!**

Beneath his faceplate, Zedd growled for a few moments as he considered his options. Normally, the Caster would have simply thrashed Decade and used sorcery to enslave him, but not under the present circumstances. While Decade was certainly not as powerful as Kuuga in its Ultimate form had been, the passing-through Rider was roughly as powerful as Tommy Oliver in his Ranger form. Further, as a Caster, Zedd could intuit that Decade probably had even stronger forms as well.

The time and effort needed to brew up a simple potion would be a small price to pay in the short term. And as Zedd's powers continued to grow, so too would his hold over Decade.

Zedd sneered beneath his faceplate as he shook Decade's extended hand, sending a small tether of magic into the passing-through Rider's form.

Voice condescending and full of false courtesy, Zedd boomed, **"VERY WELL, DECADE! Now then, just what sort of a potion did you have in mind...?"**

* * *

Angra Mainyu, Master of Avenger, looked over Fuyuki from his perch, and smiled.

Even if he couldn't truly control his Servant without resorting to a Command Spell, it wasn't necessary.

After all, why bother trying to force obedience, when such a trivial thing was meaningless in the grand scheme?

Avenger, by his very nature, was helpless to do anything other than to advance his Master's design.

* * *

**Between Saber's Zord fight, Assassin driving Risei nuts, Lancer hanging out with Kayneth, Rider and Zedd setting things up for their nefarious plots, and Berserker projecting her daddy issues onto Kariya, I think I'm satisfied with this chapter. Also... HOLY CRAP lookit how LONG this thing is!**

**Odin is one of the antagonist Riders from **_**Kamen Rider Ryuki**_**, and his **_**Dragon Knight**_** counterpart is Wrath. Wing Knight, meanwhile, is himself from **_**Kamen Rider Dragon Knight**_**, with his **_**Ryuki**_** counterpart simply named Knight. 'Hobo-san' is my personal nickname for Eiji Hino, the titular protagonist of **_**Kamen Rider OOO**_**. TheBee is from **_**Kamen Rider Kabuto**_**. Decade is, naturally, the titular antihero of **_**Kamen Rider Decade**_**.**

**Servant Berserker:**  
**Real Name: Trakeena (Power Rangers Lost Galaxy)**  
**Alignment: Neutral Evil (Chaotic Evil while under Mad Enhancement)**  
**Theme tune: Power Rangers Lost Galaxy opening theme**  
**Alternate classes: Lancer**  
**Strength: B+ (A+)**  
**Endurance: B+ (A+)**  
**Agility: C (B)**  
**Mana: A-**  
**Luck: C**

**SKILLS**

**Mad Enhancement: C: Strength, Endurance, and Agility are given a Rank Up while active, at the cost of greatly increasing Berserker's sadism, ruthlessness, and thirst for destruction to the point that her rational mind is largely overwhelmed by bloodlust.**

**Independent Action: D: Can remain in this world for around two hours without a Master. Berserker has this skill as a reminder of the many, many times she deployed or otherwise engaged the Power Rangers despite her father's orders not to.**

**Charisma: D: The galactic conqueror Scorpius was held in great esteem by his minions. As his daughter, Berserker gets a diluted effect due to the inheritance of his empire. However, because she has yet to make any great conquests of her own - and also because of her early reputation as something of a brat - the ranking of this skill has been greatly reduced.**

**Disengage: C**

**Monstrous Strength: A**

**NOBLE PHANTASMS**

_**Coccoon:**_** A Support: Trakeena can rest in her father's coccoon for a period of time in order to rapidly heal her injuries and fatigue. She can also throw other people into it to achieve a similar effect at the risk of inflicting them with intensive body mutations. If more than one individual being is in the coccoon at once, then those beings will be fused into one composite being.**

_**Trakeena's Revenge:**_** A++ Anti-Fortress: Berserker, upon unleashing this Noble Phantasm, goes completely and utterly insane with a lust for destruction to the point of becoming a wild animal intellectually, while transforming into a tentacled hell-demon of size and power comparable to an Ultrazord. Appropriately, she is incredibly difficult to damage while in this form, though holy weaponry or the Lights of Orion can affect her much more easily.**


End file.
